Lost And Found.

In the mildest, greenest grove     Blest by sprite or fairy,     Where the melting echoes rove,     Voices sweet and airy;         Where the streams         Drink the beams         Of the Sun,         As they run         Riverward         Through the sward,     A shepherd went astray -     E'en gods have lost their way.     Every bird had sought its nest,     And each flower-spirit     Dreamed of that delicious rest     Mortals ne'er inherit;         Through the trees         Swept the breeze,         Bringing airs         Unawares         Through the grove,         Until love     Came down upon his heart,     Refusing to depart.     Hungrily he quaffed the strain,     Sweeter still, and clearer,     Drenched with music's mellow rain,     Nearer - nearer - dearer!         Chains of sound         Gently bound         The lost Youth,         Till, in sooth,         He stood there         A prisoner,     Raised between earth and heaven     By love's divinest leaven.     Was there ever such a face?     Was it not a vision?     Had he climbed the starry space,     To the fields Elysian?         Through the glade         The milk-maid         With her pail,         To the vale         Passed along,         Breathing song     Through all his ravished sense,     To gladden his suspense.     "Love is swift as hawk or hind,     Chamois-like in fleetness,     None are lost that love can find,"     Sang the maid, with sweetness.         "True, in sooth,"         Thought the Youth,         "Strong, as swift,         Love can lift         Mountain weights         To the gates     Of the celestial skies,     Where all else fades and dies."     Lightly flew the sunny days,     Joy and gladness sending;     Life becomes a song of praise     When true hearts are blending.         Guileless truth         Won the Youth,         Kept him there,         A prisoner;         While dear Love         From above     Poured down enduring dreams,     In calm supernal gleams.